Coly is my nickname. I have grown up Coly to most of my family and friends and because of them and because of my love for jotting down what goes on in my life I have created a journal that is shared online. This blog is about myself and my adventures with trying to stay healthy, find my way in the world and not go crazy doing so. My blog will include a weekly story filled with my life, my love for cooking and a journey to becoming a dietitian and other great adventures.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Bruised Ribs and kiwi & Vinegar Sweetness

This past week I have wanted to write about my bruised ribs, Kiwiberries and of course Thanksgiving coming up soon. I don't really know how to put them together in one post without it sounding like such a bizarre post. I have come to the conclusion that this week there will be two different posts starting with this one.

I guess I should start with the bruised ribs, give you the bad news before the good news. a little over a week ago I bruised my ribs, left side to be exact about it. I don't know if you all know this but bruising a rib HURTS. Honestly though I haven't really thought of it aside from preventing pain with these amazing homeopathic pills called Arnica Montana from my favorite health food grocery store down the street, Windmill Farms. They have been a great help but sadly the mental toll brought on by an injury kind of sucks and yesterday I think it got to me. Yesterday I was so Hungry for some weight training. I have my weights at home and every Sunday I go to the gym for a strength class. Yesterday I was sitting at home looking at my weights thinking if I stay home I know I am going to take those weights and cause this bruise or crack whatever is going on in my ribs to get worse. For those of you who have gone to Real Life with me you know in about five minutes or less I would have had those weights in hand. It upset me that I had to stop myself but I did. I thought to myself if I go to the gym to this class I have a great trainer who would give me that you are out of your mind look and point to a treadmill. That is exactly what happened for the most part thank goodness. I did sneak in a lower body upper body twist with weights which is where I got not just the look but a mouthful of "are you kidding me" then the point to the treadmill. Needless to say I watched the entire group do burpies, twists, medicine ball tosses, rows and a bunch of other things while I was at a 5.0 incline at 3.0 speed most of the time. Honestly I was perfectly fine with it until after about 15 minutes on the treadmill. I all most forgot how dull it is to be walking on a treadmill. at the 15 minute mark not only did boredom set but thinking had begun and like any other person sometimes thinking is never wise and for me that is why I have such an empty mind at points, I try to prevent that type of thinking. Anyways I didn't really think of much except for the fact that I was dreading not working out to my full potential and that just sucks so bad. To be honest my ribs have been healing rather quickly considering they only hurt at certain points and if I do something stupid but still it sucks that I have to slow down. It is like driving on the 1-5 with no traffic, you are speeding up to the 80s and even 90s and then there is that one slow car that slows you down. I was still getting some exercise in just like I would still end up at my destination. Anyways I needed a little pick me up after that and although I would have gladly said it was a Ben and Jerry's pint it wasn't thank goodness. Nope I went to the fridge opened up the door and remembered something, "it's so not worth it especially for something so tiny in my mind."

This leads me to the kiwiberries. I wasn't really thinking about Ben and Jerry's when I opened up the fridge but about the new fruit I had stumbled upon at Sam's Club the other day. I stood at the fridge looking at the container of these sweet berries that I have become intrigued by and fell in love with. I had some before I went to the gym with breakfast and fell in love. the kiwiberry is this lip puckering sweet fruit that is related to a regular kiwi. It even looks like a little baby kiwi. The difference is no hair on the skin, the skin is edible and the kiwiberry is as small as a grape. It tastes like kiwi that was drenched in sugar (in a delicious kind of way). So I am looking at this container, with probably two or three servings and at the time did not really care up until the positive thought of "it's not worth it" came into my mind. Instead I started questioning everything about this new and amazing fruit and what do I do when I have questions? I do what every other person raised on a computer does, I went to the computer, typed in www.google.com and did my research. I learned so much so far. I know that it has more Potassium than bananas, a low sodium count, no fat or Cholesterol, it has numerous other minerals like Manganese, Calcium, Zinc and many others. It has More Vitamin C than an orange, Twice the amount of Vitamin E than an avocado, a few different Carotenoids and Flavonoids, and a few different B vitamins including B6, B2, and Folate, along with 4 grams of fiber in a serving. So ya it is very healthy for you. What you should also know is that the calories vary depending on types of kiwiberries and if they are cultivated in the states or wild in Asian countries. The wild kiwiberries have less sugar and can range between 90-100 calories give or take and cultivated berries can have about 130 calories per serving which is about 6 oz of berries. The sugar thing actually got me to curb my craving for them even more considering it is extremely hard to get wild kiwiberries and I am sure the fact that the ones I bought aren't screaming Wild Kiwiberries on the front of the packaging I am just going to take a guess as to whether or not they are wild. Not saying they still aren't healthy considering most farms that cultivate the kiwiberries are considered organic farms and the amount of vitamins that prevent cancer and minerals that help balance out the body's system are enough to say have a serving every so often. Instead of eating all of them at once I will be savoring them with a serving in the morning and I have made a delicious shake with them which included the kiwiberries along with a mix of other berries, almond milk and protein powder. I loved it and I believe my dad did as well.

To be honest I don't know how to end this post aside from assuring you that the next blog will come sooner than usual since I am getting excited for some Thankgiving goodness. maybe I will even add my new found love for kiwiberries into the mix or... OH I totally forgot to mention the amazing flavored vinegars I couldn't resist buying at Seaport Oils and Vinegars. Seaport Oils and Vinegars is a company that has mastered the art of infusing oils and vinegars with other flavors. They have oils infused with Blood Orange, basil, Lemon, Cilantro & Roasted Onion, and even harissa infused EVOO. I tasted that harissa oil and can I just say it is so spicy, yummy but spicy if you wouldn't mind a bit of spice in your salad or in whatever you cook it is amazing. I however didn't want the oils I wanted the vinegars and I wanted to test out the balsamic vinegars. I tested nearly every single on of them and there are many different ones including chocolate, vanilla, espresso, and pomegranate but the one I fell in love with was the fig balsamic. The undertone of Fig creats this sweet bitter after taste that I couldn't resist so I got a bottle. What was even more amazing was that with the purchase I got a small bottle of another vinegar. I chose the red apple vinegar which made my day today. It inspired me to change up my Ketchup with some sauteed sweet onions, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and the red apple balsamic and I think it is one of the best I have made. this is a very odd ending to a blog but the vinegars popped into my head while typing so please forgive me. I will try to make the next blog a little more ending friendly.

About Me

I am a nutritionist trying to inspire. I went from weighing 268 pounds and playing video games for exercise to working out regularly cooking healthy meals and working out religiously. My experiences and lessons come from my religion, family, friends and places I get to explore. I love to find new ways to cook healthy meals and just enjoy life and I love to vent about all of it in my blogs.